Most blogs suck.
You might have the most brilliant advice, but nobody reads it.
The solution starts with…the start.
A recent survey found that only 30% of readers make it to the end of a post. Just like a YouTube video – if you don’t grab your readers’ attention in 3 seconds it’s sayonara.
They’re gone.
In this post you will learn a 5 step approach to quickly retro fit old posts gathering digital dust, or tweak new posts to start working miracles.
Let’s jump in with some mind work on how to start a blog post.
1. Enter the conversation
To capture your readers’ attention you have to first enter the conversation going on in their mind (Robert Collier). In other words, grab their attention with something they’re already thinking about.
– If you’re a financial planner, tell me how to avoid costly mistakes.
– If you’re a realtor, tell me how to make more money when I sell my home.
– If you’re an IT consultant, tell me how to choose the best IT consultant.
Not sure where to start? Start with a list of the most common questions your prospects ask you.
2. Get my attention
This is key—make me stop and want to read more. Your reader found your latest post via your email or social media. But, they’re not committed yet—with the click of their mouse they’re gone – never to return to that post.
So, hook them with bait that makes them hungry for more.
Start with your first sentence. Its job is to get me to read your second sentence. And so on.
In your #blog, the job of your first sentence is to get me to read your second sentence. And so on. Click To Tweet
Don’t force me to wade through a muddy dissertation. Instead, start with a bold statement, a bit of controversy or a question.
For example, I could have started this post with something like:
“The problem with all too many blogs is that they fail to get the attention of readers and, as a result, don’t drive traffic to your products or services.”
Ugh.
Instead, I started with:
“Most blogs suck.”
3. Tell me the Problem
Here’s a blogging secret. If the reader doesn’t care about your topic, they won’t care to read about it.
So, make it obvious.
In the first 2 sentences you need to TELL ME THE PROBLEM you will solve.
Here’s a blogging secret. If the reader doesn’t care about your topic, they won’t care to read about it. Click To Tweet
Even better: choose only one problem to solve.
Here are 3 examples from our blog:
1. In this post we tackled time management:
“Let’s get one thing straight. I waste time, you waste time…everyone wastes time.”
2. This post is all about getting more traffic:
“And it’s time to get serious about your business and your blog. You want more traffic—the right traffic.”
3. This post is about restarting your blog writing:
“You haven’t published for at least a month – not so great.”
4. Make a promise
Every salesperson worth his/her salt knows this. To keep your prospect’s attention you need to make a promise of what you have to offer.
It could be as simple as “Let me show you how we can fix that”, or “I think I have the perfect solution for you.”
It’s no different in your blog—once you get my attention, tell me what comes next.
For example, this post is about blog performance:
“In this post we’re looking at super simple tune-ups to make your blog work better and, maybe, even a bit sexier. Sound good?”
5. Please get to the point!
Finally, a great blog gets to the point.
You got my attention, you entered the conversation going on in my mind, you even described a problem you know I have – great! Now, get to the point and deliver the goods.
The average visitor time on our client’s websites is about one minute. The average time we see on their blog posts is more like 3 to 7 minutes. Wow!
Your blog has the ability to stop readers from clicking away. Your blog can also drive traffic to your revenue pages.
If you do it right.
A few small changes to the start of your post can improve time on site, list growth – even conversion to sales.
It all starts with…the start.
Enjoyed this post on how to start a blog post? Here are 3 more all about blog writing:
5 easy steps to publishing your next blog post (even if you don’t have time)
90 seconds to becoming a better writer
How to never run out of blog ideas ever again